Dean’s Office

The Dean is the chief academic adviser to the 500 students assigned to Ezra Stiles College. Residing within the college, she helps in all matters concerning their academic programs, applies and enforces the Academic and Undergraduate Regulations that govern student behavior, works in conjunction with the Registrar’s Office and the Yale College Dean’s Office, oversees the first-year counselors, and supervises first-year advising. The Dean is a great resource for a wide range of other matters and advises students on everything from personal crises to post-graduation plans. As needed, she refers students to resources, offices, or persons that can be of assistance to them. She teaches one course per year, writes letters of recommendation, serves on a range of University committees, and coordinates various college activities. In cases of incapacitating illness or family emergency, the Dean also has the authority to postpone deadlines for academic work or final exams.See more information at the bottom of this page for helpful resources and frequently requested services.

The Ezra Stiles Dean’s Office is located in Room 112 in Entryway C, just to the left after entering the front gate.

The Ezra Stiles Dean’s Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm during the academic year. To make an appointment to meet with the Dean, please call 203-432-0563.

Nilakshi Parndigamage

Nilakshi Parndigamage is the Dean of Ezra Stiles College and a lecturer in the Political Science Department. Born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Yale University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Dean Parndigamage previously worked as a corporate litigator in New York and Washington, D.C. for a leading international commercial litigation firm. She was a member of several legal teams representing corporate clients in various breach-of-contract, fraud, products liability, qui tam, and securities cases. During her time at the firm, she also devoted significant time to pro bono criminal defense work. She has been admitted to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia.

Prior to her career as a litigator, Dean Parndigamage conducted human rights research, advocacy, and public policy work in Washington, D.C., Baghdad, Cape Town, and the Hague. She has researched the prevalence of wartime sexual violence in the former Yugoslavia and has assisted in editing a handbook for Iraqi legislators on how to re-draft Iraqi legal codes to better protect Iraqi minorities. She is the recipient of numerous human rights fellowships and is currently a Senior Fellow of the Humanity in Action Human Rights Organization based in New York City.

Dean Parndigamage also serves as a lecturer in the Political Science department and teaches a course on Wrongful Convictions which examines the various social and political factors that result in innocent people being convicted of serious crimes in the United States. The course examines factors such as eye-witness misidentifications, unreliable forensic science, false confessions, informants, and prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct that contribute to the problem of wrongful convictions, and explores possible criminal justice reform approaches that would address potential sources of error.

The dean resides in the Dean’s Residence in Ezra Stiles College with her husband Patrick, son Gihan, and daughter Ayanthi.

To make an appointment to meet with Dean Parndigamage (pronounced Parn-di-gah-mah-gay), please contact McKenzie Granata in the Dean’s Office.

McKenzie Granata is the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Dean and, according to one FroCo, the largest collector of moose-themed decor south of the Adirondacks. McKenzie continues to work in her spare time as a freelance researcher, copywriter, and editor. A lover of nature and animals (including the majestic moose), McKenzie enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and can be found taking nature walks, climbing, studying tidal pools, crashing local farms to pet the animals, and occasionally raiding the lesser colleges. Please contact McKenzie if you have academic questions, need academic forms, need a notary public, or wish to make an appointment with the Dean. McKenzie is in room 111 in the College Office (Entryway C), and can be reached by phone at 203-432-0563 M-F 8:30–5:00.